hpr-knowledge-base/hpr_transcripts/hpr2185.txt

Episode: 2185
Title: HPR2185: Soldering a Soldering Fan
Source: https://hub.hackerpublicradio.org/ccdn.php?filename=/eps/hpr2185/hpr2185.mp3
Transcribed: 2025-10-18 15:26:39

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This in HPR episode 2,185 entitled, Soldering a Soldering Fan.
It is posted by Ken Fallon and in about 5 minutes long.
The summary is practicing soldering killed by hacking together a soldering extraction fan.
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Hi everybody. This is Ken Fallon. This is another episode on Hacker Public Radio.
It's basically my show and tell soldering fan that a total cost of 0.
I have been wanting to solder for a while and one of the things that I've wanted to make has been a little soldering extractor thing.
So there now I've just taken the fan out of an old computer that I was getting rid of.
I took all the bits out and circle boards and stuff with the intention of doing some more soldering and practicing.
One of the YouTube channels I watch great Scott linked to it in the show notes has recommended a particular episode on what parts you should try and salvage from a computer if you can or circle boards if you can and what parts you shouldn't really bother or it's not working while doing.
One of the things that I wanted to do with that is just to have a charcoal based fan that would extract, you know, move the air away from my face so I don't have to breathe it particularly.
I just don't like breathing that stuff.
So for that, Ikea have like charcoal filters for their extractor fans where they in the kitchen, your extraction fan has a ventilator in it and circulates just in the room and it forces air over charcoal filter.
And I wanted to get one of those and attach it to a fan and the PC fan I actually happen to have was a 10 volt 0.15 amp fan.
So I've been rummaging around in the what you would call the goodwill store probably I hear it's called the Kringlow Winkle or the circle of life store and it's where people you know donate bits and pieces and other people come to buy them.
I actually ended up buying something else and the guy threw in the power supply for zero euros which was a win.
So I took that home and I don't know who was it that recommended this is it on here in HCR I think about power supplies I think it was.
Yeah, I think I was here in HCR that sometimes it's not worth your while getting an adjustable power supply just go down to the shop and you know get a selection of them.
So I was looking here and this thing can go 12 volts two amps.
So that's a pretty pretty nifty little power supply I brought it home and put it into my cheap voltmeter to find out which was positive one which was negative.
I colored one of them I split the cable cut the connector off split the cable found out which was positive and negative marked the positive one what read.
And then the fan itself or the cable is marked black and red which was convenient and then I just pre-soldered turned on my soldering iron put one of the hands into the little helping hand thing here which is a thing with clips on it.
And then I heated up and heated the metal of the wires and then close to but not on top of the soldering iron I let the solder melt into the wires and I did that on both sides.
And then I brought both of them together heated it up and the solder melted on both and then surprisingly enough it works.
So that's how the soldering done. I also got some heat shrink tubing various different selections from deal extreme and I got those ages ago.
So before I did it I put on two small pieces on the inside and then one piece on the outside to cover the whole thing up and then I'm currently just using a candle to heat shrink it.
Now two things I've been watching bigclive.com who has been taking apart things, dead traps so that we don't have to.
Very, very good video channel if you want to watch that link will be in the show notes and he has recommended a soldering station which I think I will get with them.
It's got a little air fan on it.
But actually I just have a little candle, one of these little floaty and watery candle things, T-light candles that's the word I'm looking for.
And I just bring the heat shrink close to that and it just melts in a pretty cool controlled fashion.
So basically I have a power supply here that powers a fan.
Is it the most awesome cool project that was ever done in the world?
No it isn't. Is it the first project that I have done and I'm really happy and chuffed about?
Yes it is. So that's a win here for the team.
Anyway, hopefully this will inspire some of you to get a soldering iron.
And you know what's the worst that can happen? Burn your house down.
But as long as you're able to dial 911 or 9112 here in Europa, you should be grand.
Have a book in a water room. What's the worst that could happen?
Do you need anything? Do you need anything?
Anyways, tune in tomorrow for another exciting episode of Hacker Public Radio.
Photos will be in the show, not by the way. Bye!
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